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==Events== Below, the events of [[World War II]] have the "WWII" prefix. ===January=== {{Main|1941}} * [[January]]–[[August]] – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with [[carbon monoxide]] in a [[gas chamber]], at [[Hadamar Euthanasia Centre]] in [[Germany]], in the first phase of mass killings under the [[Action T4]] program here. * [[January 1]] – [[Thailand]]'s Prime Minister [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]] decrees January 1 as the official start of the [[Thai solar calendar]] new year (thus the previous year that began [[April 1]] had only 9 months). * [[January 3]] – A decree (''Normalschrifterlass'') promulgated in [[Germany]] by [[Martin Bormann]], on behalf of [[Adolf Hitler]], requires replacement of [[blackletter]] [[typeface]]s by [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]].<ref>{{cite web|title="The Bormann Decree" banning the use of the Fraktur typeface|url=http://german.about.com/library/gallery/blfoto_fraktur06E.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=2013-10-23|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221347/http://german.about.com/library/gallery/blfoto_fraktur06E.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> * [[January 4]] – The short subject ''[[Elmer's Pet Rabbit]]'' is released, marking the second appearance of [[Bugs Bunny]], and also the first to have his name on a title card. * [[January 5]] – WWII: [[Battle of Bardia]] in [[Libya]]: Australian and British troops defeat [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] forces, the first battle of the war in which an [[Australian Army]] formation takes part. * [[January 6]] ** During his [[State of the Union]] address, [[President of the United States]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] presents his [[Four Freedoms]], as fundamental global [[human rights]]. ** The keel of battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} is laid at the [[New York Navy Yard]] in [[Brooklyn]]. * [[January 10]] – The [[Lend-Lease]] Act is introduced into the [[United States Congress]]. * [[January 11]] – WWII: The British [[Royal Navy]] light cruiser {{HMS|Southampton|83}} is bombed, catches fire and has to be sunk off [[Malta]], with the loss of 81 crew. * [[January 13]] – All persons born in [[Puerto Rico]] since this day are declared U.S. citizens by birth, through U.S. federal law.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|8|1402}}.</ref> * [[January 14]] ** WWII: [[Commerce raiding]] [[German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin|German auxiliary cruiser ''Pinguin'']] captures the Norwegian whaling fleet near [[Bouvet Island]], effectively ending [[Southern Ocean]] [[whaling]] for the duration of the war.<ref>{{cite book|last=Muggenthaler|first=August Karl|title=German Raiders of WWII|publisher=Prentice-Hall|year=1977|isbn=0-13-354027-8|pages=140–143}}.</ref> ** In a BBC radio broadcast from London, [[Victor de Laveleye]] asks all Belgians to use the letter "V" as a rallying sign, being the first letter of ''victoire'' (victory) in French and of ''vrijheid'' (freedom) in Dutch. This is the beginning of the "V campaign" which sees "V" graffities on the walls of Belgium and later all of Europe and introduces the use of the "[[V sign]]" for victory and freedom. [[Winston Churchill]] adopts the sign soon afterwards, though he sometimes gets it the wrong way around and uses the common insult gesture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Telfer |first=Kevin |title=The Summer of '45 |year=2015 |publisher=Aurum Press Ltd |location=Islington |isbn=978-1-78131-435-7 |page=5}}</ref> * [[January 15]] – [[John Vincent Atanasoff]] and [[Clifford Berry]] describe the workings of the [[Atanasoff–Berry computer]] in print. * [[January 19]] – WWII: British troops attack Italian-held [[Eritrea]] in Africa. * [[January 22]] ** WWII: [[Battle of Tobruk (1941)|Battle of Tobruk]]: Australian and British forces capture [[Tobruk]] from the Italians. ** In [[Sweden]], [[Victor Hasselblad]] registers the [[Hasselblad]] Camera Company. * [[January 23]] – Aviator [[Charles Lindbergh]] testifies before the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], and recommends that the United States negotiate a [[Country neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] pact with [[Adolf Hitler]]. * [[January 27]] – WWII: [[Joseph Grew]], the U.S. ambassador to Japan, reports to Washington a rumor overheard at a diplomatic reception, concerning a planned surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. * [[January 28]] – [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], the chief of the separatist [[Indian National Army]], reaches Kabul, Afghanistan by successfully evading the British authorities in British India. * [[January 30]] – WWII: Australians capture [[Derna, Libya]], from the Italians. ===February=== {{Main|February 1941}} * [[February 3]] – WWII: The [[Nazis]] forcibly restore [[Pierre Laval]] to the office of Prime Minister in occupied [[Vichy France]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/89546003/Pittsburgh|title=Post-Gazette Feb. 3, 1941|publisher=}}</ref> * [[February 4]] – WWII: The [[United Service Organization]] (USO) is created to entertain American troops. * [[February 5]] – The [[Air Training Corps]] is formed in the United Kingdom. * [[February 5]]–[[April 1]] – WWII: [[Battle of Keren]] – British and [[Free French Forces]] fight hard to capture the strategic town of [[Keren, Eritrea|Keren]] in [[Italian Eritrea]]. * [[February 6]] – WWII: [[Benghazi]] falls to the [[Western Desert Force]]. Lieutenant-General [[Erwin Rommel]] is appointed commander of [[Afrika Korps]]. * [[February 8]] – WWII: The U.S. House of Representatives passes the [[Lend-Lease]] Act.<ref>260–165.</ref> * [[February 9]] – [[Winston Churchill]], in a worldwide broadcast, tells the United States to show its support by sending arms to the British: "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job." * [[February 12]] ** WWII: [[Erwin Rommel]] arrives in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]. ** Reserve Constable [[Albert Alexander (police officer)|Albert Alexander]], a patient at the [[Radcliffe Infirmary]] in [[Oxford]], England, becomes the first person treated with [[penicillin]] intravenously, by [[Howard Florey]]'s team. He reacts positively, but there is insufficient supply of the drug to reverse his terminal infection. A successful treatment is achieved during May.<ref>{{cite book|first=Patrick|last=Robertson|title=The Shell Book of Firsts|location=London|publisher=Ebury Press|year=1974|pages=124–5}}</ref> * [[February 13]] – Aircraft from British carrier {{HMS|Formidable|67|6}} attack [[Massawa]] in Eritrea. * [[February 14]] – WWII: Admiral [[Kichisaburō Nomura]] begins his duties as Japanese Ambassador to the United States. * [[February 19]]–[[February 22|22]] – WWII: [[Swansea Blitz|Three Nights' Blitz]] over [[Swansea]], South Wales: Over these 3 nights of intensive bombing, which lasts a total of 13 hours and 48 minutes, Swansea's town centre is almost completely obliterated by the 896 high explosive bombs employed by the [[Luftwaffe]]; 397 casualties and 230 deaths are reported. * [[February 22]] – WWII: British cruiser {{HMS|Shropshire|73|6}} bombards [[Barawa]], on the coast between [[Kismayo]] and [[Mogadishu]]. * [[February 23]] – [[Glenn T. Seaborg]] and associates isolate and discover [[plutonium]], at the University of California, Berkeley. * [[February 25]] – WWII: ** The occupied [[Netherlands in World War II|Netherlands]] starts the first popular uprising in Europe against the [[Axis powers]], the "[[February strike]]" against German [[deportation]] of Jews in [[Amsterdam]] and surroundings. ** British submarine {{HMS|Upright|N89|6}} attacks an Italian convoy, sinking the [[Italian cruiser Armando Diaz|cruiser ''Armando Diaz'']]. * [[February 27]] – WWII: The [[New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy|New Zealand Division]] cruiser [[HMNZS Leander|HMS ''Leander'']] (1931) sinks Italian armed merchant raider ''[[Ramb I]]'' off the [[Maldives]]. ===March=== {{Main|March 1941}} * [[March 1]] ** WWII: [[Bulgaria]] signs the [[Tripartite Pact]], thus joining the [[Axis powers]]. ** [[Arthur L. Bristol]] becomes Rear Admiral for the United States Navy's Support Force, [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]]. * [[March 4]] – WWII: [[Operation Claymore]] – British Commandos carry out a successful raid on the [[Lofoten Islands]], off the north coast of Norway. * [[March 5]] – [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], having been President of the United States for 8 years, 1 day, becomes the longest-serving president in American history. * [[March 11]] – WWII: [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], President of the United States, signs the Lend-Lease Act (passed by the Senate on March 8) into law, providing for the U.S. to provide [[Lend-Lease]] aid to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. * [[March 15]] – Berlin-based American journalist [[Richard C. Hottelet]] is arrested by the [[Gestapo]] on "suspicion of espionage", but eventually released in July as part of a [[prisoner exchange]] with the U.S. * [[March 16]] – A group of U.S. warships arrive in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, on a goodwill visit. On March 20, they arrive in [[Sydney]], Australia. * [[March 17]] ** In [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[National Gallery of Art]] is officially opened by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. ** British [[Secretary of State for Employment|Minister of Labour]] [[Ernest Bevin]] calls for women to fill vital jobs. * [[March 22]] – [[Washington (state)|Washington]] state's [[Grand Coulee Dam]] begins to generate electricity. * [[March 24]] – WWII: Rommel launches his first offensive in [[Cyrenaica]]. * [[March 25]] – WWII: The [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] joins the [[Axis powers]] in [[Vienna]]. * [[March 27]] – WWII: ** [[Battle of Cape Matapan]]: Off the [[Peloponnese]] coast in the Mediterranean, [[Royal Navy|British naval forces]] defeat those of Italy, sinking 5 warships (the battle ends on [[March 29]]). ** [[Yugoslav coup d'état]]: An anti-Axis coup d'état in the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] led by General [[Dušan Simović]], Brigadier General [[Borivoje Mirković]], Colonels Dragutin Savić and Stjepan Burazović, Colonel General Miodrag Lazić, [[Milorad Petrović]] and many other general officers (with British support) forces [[Prince Paul of Yugoslavia|Prince Paul]] into exile; 17-year-old [[Peter II of Yugoslavia|King Peter II]] assumes power following the coup and Simović is elected new [[Prime Minister of Yugoslavia]]. ** [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]ese spy [[Takeo Yoshikawa]] arrives in [[Honolulu]] to study the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] at [[Pearl Harbor]], in preparation for a future attack. * [[March 30]] – WWII: ** All German, Italian and Danish ships anchored in United States waters are taken into "protective custody". ** A German [[Lorenz cipher]] machine operator sends a 4,000-character message twice, allowing British mathematician [[Bill Tutte]] to decipher the machine's coding mechanism.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100204035124/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8492762.stm BBC] (archived from [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8492762.stm the original])</ref> ===April=== {{Main|April 1941}} * [[April]] – The [[Valley of Geysers]] is discovered on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]] of Russia, by [[Tatyana Ustinova]]. * [[April 1]] – [[1941 Iraqi coup d'état|A military coup d'état]], launched by [[Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani]], overthrows the pro-British regime in [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]]. * [[April 4]] – WWII: Axis forces capture [[Benghazi]]. * [[April 6]] – WWII: Germany, Italy and Hungary [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|invade Yugoslavia]] and the [[Battle of Greece]] begins. * [[April 9]] – The U.S. acquires full military defense rights in [[Greenland]]. * [[April 10]] – WWII: ** U.S. destroyer {{USS|Niblack|DD-424|6}}, while picking up survivors from a sunken Dutch freighter, drops depth charges on a German [[U-boat]] (the first "shot in anger" fired by America against Germany).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=142|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921013513/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=142|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 21, 2012|title=A Brief History of U.S. Navy Destroyers. Part II - World War II (1941-1943)|work=America's Navy|publisher=US Navy|location=Washington, DC|access-date=2018-04-28}}</ref> ** The [[Independent State of Croatia]], a [[puppet state]] of the [[Axis powers]], is established with [[Ustashe]] leader [[Ante Pavelić]] as head (''[[Poglavnik]]'') of the government. * [[April 12]] – WWII: German troops enter [[Belgrade]]. * [[April 13]] – The [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] is signed.<ref name="ref1">{{cite book|last=Quigley|first=Carroll|title=Tragedy And Hope|year=1966|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=0-945001-10-X|pages=738|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZxAAAAIAAJ&q=tragedy+and+hope}}</ref> * [[April 15]] – WWII: Axis forces reach [[Halfaya Pass]], on the Libyan-Egyptian frontier. * [[April 18]] – WWII: ** The Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates. ** Greek Prime Minister [[Alexandros Koryzis]] commits suicide as German troops approach [[Athens]]. * [[April 19]] – [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s anti-war play ''[[Mother Courage and Her Children]]'' ({{langx|de|Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder}}) receives its first theatrical production, at the [[Schauspielhaus Zürich]]. * [[April 21]] – WWII: Greece capitulates to Germany. [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] troops and some elements of the [[Greek Army]] withdraw to [[Crete]]. * [[April 23]] – The [[America First Committee]] holds its first mass rally in New York City, with [[Charles Lindbergh]] as keynote speaker. * [[April 25]] – [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], at his regular press conference, criticizes Charles Lindbergh by comparing him to the [[Copperhead (politics)|Copperheads]] of the Civil War period. In response, Lindbergh resigns his commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve on [[April 28]]. * [[April 27]] – WWII: German troops enter [[Athens]]. * [[April 28]] – [[World War II persecution of Serbs]]: [[Gudovac massacre]] – Members of the [[Croatian nationalism|Croatian nationalist]] [[Ustashe]] movement kill around 190 [[Bjelovar]] [[Serbs]] in the village of [[Gudovac]], in the [[Independent State of Croatia]]. [[File:Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AAB-01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ansel Adams]] photograph of the [[Hoover Dam]] in 1941.]] === May === {{Main|May 1941}} * [[May 1]] ** The breakfast cereal ''[[Cheerios]]'' is introduced as ''[[CheeriOats]]'' by [[General Mills]] in the United States. ** [[Orson Welles]]' film ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' premieres in New York City. ** The first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps go on sale in the United States, to help fund the greatly increased production of military equipment. * [[May 2]] – WWII: [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]: British combat operations against the rebel government of [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani|Rashid Ali]] in the [[Kingdom of Iraq]] begin.<ref>{{cite book|first1=I. S. O.|last1=Playfair|first2=F. C.|last2=Flynn |first3=C. J. C.|last3=Molony|first4=S. E.|last4=Toomer|editor-last=Butler|editor-first=J. R. M. |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series|title=The Mediterranean and Middle East |volume=II: The Germans come to the help of their Ally (1941)|publisher=Naval & Military Press|year=2004|orig-date=1956|isbn=1-84574-066-1 |pages=182–183}}</ref> * [[May 5]] – WWII: Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] enters [[Addis Ababa]], which has been liberated from Italian forces; this date is subsequently commemorated as [[Liberation Day]] in [[Ethiopia]]. * [[May 6]] – At [[California]]'s [[March Air Reserve Base|March Field]], entertainer [[Bob Hope]] performs his first [[United Service Organizations|USO]] Show. * [[May 8]] – WWII: The [[German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin|German auxiliary cruiser ''Pinguin'']] is sunk by British cruiser {{HMS|Cornwall|56}} in the Indian Ocean; 555 are killed. * [[May 9]] – WWII: {{ship|German submarine|U-110|1940|6}} is captured by the British [[Royal Navy]]. On board is the latest [[Enigma cryptography machine]], which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages. * [[May 10]] ** WWII: The [[British House of Commons]] is damaged by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' in an [[Airstrike|air raid]] on London. ** [[Rudolf Hess]] parachutes into Scotland, claiming to be on a peace mission. * [[May 11]]/[[May 12]] – WWII: The Ustaše [[Glina massacres#First massacre|massacre]] 260–373 [[Serb]] men in a Catholic church in [[Glina, Croatia]], where the men have assembled to be received into the Catholic faith in exchange for their lives. * [[May 12]] – [[Konrad Zuse]] presents the [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]], the world's first working programmable, fully automatic [[computer]], in Berlin. * [[May 13]] – WWII: [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] General [[Draža Mihailović]] and a group of 80 soldiers and officers cross the [[Drina]] river in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], arrive at [[Ravna Gora (Suvobor)|Ravna Gora]], in western [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia|Nazi-occupied Serbia]] and start fighting with German occupation troops. * [[May 15]] ** The first British jet aircraft, the [[Gloster E.28/39]], is flown. ** [[Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak]] begins, as the [[New York Yankees]]' [[center fielder]] goes 1 for 4 against [[Chicago White Sox]] [[pitcher]] [[Eddie Smith (pitcher)|Eddie Smith]] in baseball. * [[May 19]] – The [[Viet Minh]] is formed at [[Pác Bó]] in [[Vietnam]], to overthrow [[French colonial empire|French rule]] of the nation, as an alliance between the Indochina Communist party, led by [[Ho Chi Minh]], and the Nationalist party. It will become the [[Viet Cong]] during the [[Vietnam War]]. * [[May 20]] – WWII: The [[Battle of Crete]] begins, as Germany launches an airborne invasion of [[Crete]], the first mainly airborne invasion in military history. * [[May 21]] – {{ship|German submarine|U-69|1940|6}} sinks the U.S.-flagged {{SS|Robin Moor}} off the west African coast, having allowed the passengers and crew to disembark. * [[May 24]] – WWII: ** In the North Atlantic, {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}} sinks British [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}, killing all but 3 crewmen, from a total of 1,418 aboard the pride of the [[Royal Navy]]. ** British submarine {{HMS|Upholder|P37|6}} torpedoes and sinks Italian ocean liner {{SS|Conte Rosso}}. * [[May 26]] – WWII: In the North Atlantic, [[Fairey Swordfish]] aircraft from the carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}} cripple the steering of {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}} in an [[aerial torpedo]] attack. * [[May 27]] ** WWII: [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], President of the United States, proclaims an "unlimited national emergency".<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1941/410527a.html Proclamation of Unlimited National Emergency], Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, May 27, 1941</ref> ** WWII: [[German battleship Bismarck|German battleship ''Bismarck'']] is sunk in the North Atlantic, killing 2,300. It is eventually found in [[1989]]. ** The [[Swiss Socialist Federation]] is banned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lang|first=Karl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMBEFai6EQkC&pg=PA268|title=Solidarité, débats, mouvement: cent ans de Parti socialiste suisse, 1888-1988|location=Lausanne|publisher=Editions d'en bas|year=1988|pages=270–2|isbn=9782829000973}}</ref> * [[May 29]] – The [[Disney animators' strike]] begins, due to lack of recognition by [[Walt Disney]] of his animators' inequities of pay and privileges. * [[May 30]] – WWII: [[Manolis Glezos]] and [[Apostolos Santas]] tear down the [[Nazi swastika]] on the [[Acropolis]] in [[Athens]] and replace it with the [[Greek flag]]. * [[May 31]] – [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]: British troops complete the re-occupation of the [[Kingdom of Iraq]], returning Prince [['Abd al-Ilah]] to power as regent for [[Faisal II of Iraq|Faisal II]]. === June === {{Main|June 1941}} * [[June 1]] – WWII: The [[Battle of Crete]] ends, as Crete surrenders to invading German forces. * [[June 4]] – [[Guidelines for the Conduct of the Troops in Russia]] are issued by Nazi high-command through OKW. This order (a lesser known precursor to the Commisar Order) explicitly commands that Jews (in addition to Bolshevik partisans and Commisars) be killed. In a sense, this order – in combination with the [[Commissar Order]] about to be delivered, and Goring's instruction to Heydrich to look into logistics later in the month, that is mentioned at the beginning of the [[Wannsee Conference]] of the following year – inaugurates the [[The Holocaust|European Holocaust of the Jews]]. * [[June 5]] ** [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]: Four thousand [[Chongqing]] residents are asphyxiated in a bomb shelter during the [[Bombing of Chongqing]]. ** [[Smederevo Fortress explosion]]: A Serbian ammunition depot explodes at [[Smederevo]] on the outskirts of [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]], killing 2,500 and injuring over 4,500. * [[June 6]] – WWII: The [[Commissar Order]] is issued by ''[[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht]]'', requiring all Soviet [[political commissar]]s identified in [[Operation Barbarossa]] among captured forces to receive [[summary execution]]. * [[June 8]] – WWII: British and [[Free France|Free French]] forces invade [[Syria]]. * [[June 13]] – [[Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union|TASS]], the official Soviet news agency, denies reports of tension between Germany and the [[Soviet Union]]. * [[June 14]] ** [[June deportation]]: [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] officials deport about 65,000 people from [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] to [[Siberia]]. ** All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen. * [[June 16]] ** All German and Italian consulates in the United States are ordered closed, and their staffs to leave the country by July 10. ** WWII: British [[Fleet Air Arm]] aircraft sink the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] [[French destroyer Chevalier Paul (1932)|French destroyer ''Chevalier Paul'']] off Syria. * [[June 18]] – The [[German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship]] is signed between [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Turkey]], in [[Ankara]]. * [[June 20]] ** The [[United States Army Air Corps]] [[1941 in aviation#June|becomes]] the [[United States Army Air Forces]], with the earlier name reserved solely for the new USAAF's logistics and training elements. ** Walt Disney's live-action/animated feature ''[[The Reluctant Dragon (1941 film)|The Reluctant Dragon]]'' is released. * [[June 22]] ** WWII: [[Operation Barbarossa]]: [[Nazi Germany]] (with allies) invades the [[Soviet Union]] and [[German declaration of war on the Soviet Union|declares war on it]]. [[Winston Churchill]] promises all possible British assistance to the Soviet Union in a worldwide broadcast: "Any man or state who fights against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe." Italy and [[Romania]] declare war on the Soviet Union. ** WWII: The [[First Sisak Partisan Brigade]], the first anti-fascist armed unit in occupied Europe, is founded by [[Partisans (Yugoslavia)|Yugoslav partisans]] near [[Sisak]], [[Croatia]]. ** [[June Uprising in Lithuania]]: A [[Provisional Government of Lithuania]] is established by the [[Lithuanian Activist Front]], in an attempt to liberate [[Lithuania]] from [[Occupation of the Baltic states|Soviet occupation]]. ** Rapid escalation of [[the Holocaust in Lithuania]]: Between now and the end of the year, an estimated 190,000-195,000 out of 210,000 [[Lithuanian Jews]] will be massacred, killing an estimated 95% of the nation's [[Jewish]] population.<ref name=Oshry>{{cite book|last=Oshry|first=Ephraim|title=Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry|isbn=1-880582-18-X|publisher=Judaica Press|location=New York|year=1995}}</ref> ** [[Rapid Vienna]] beats [[Schalke 04]], in the final of the German ''Fottballchampionship'', after 0:3 with 4:3. * [[June 23]] – WWII: [[Hungary]] and [[Slovakia]] declare war on the Soviet Union. * [[June 24]] ** [[Rainiai massacre]]: Approximately 80 political prisoners are killed by the [[NKVD]] in Lithuania. ** The [[Soviet Information Bureau]], predecessor of [[RIA Novosti]], is founded. * [[June 25]] – WWII: Finland (as a [[Co-belligerence|co-belligerent]] with Germany) attacks the [[Soviet Union]], starting the [[Continuation War]]. * [[June 25]]–[[June 29|29]] – [[The Holocaust]]: [[Kaunas pogrom]] – Thousands of Jews are massacred in Lithuania by local partisans and invading German forces.<ref name=Oshry/> * [[June 28]] – WWII: [[Albania]] declares war on the Soviet Union. * [[June 28]]–[[June 30|30]] – The Holocaust: [[Iași pogrom]] – "At least 13,266" [[Romanian Jews]] are massacred by local governmental forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://zionism-israel.com/dic/iasi_pogrom.htm|title=Iasi Pogrom|work=Zionism and Israel - Encyclopedic Dictionary|accessdate=2025-04-07}}</ref> * [[June 29]] – WWII: [[Hitler]]'s second-in-command, [[Reichsmarshall]] [[Hermann Göring]], is appointed as Hitler's successor in a written decree. The decree will come into effect, should Hitler die in the middle of the war. (The decree becomes void in April 1945, after Göring tries to assume power while Hitler is still alive, leading to Göring's expulsion from the [[Nazi Party]].) ===July=== {{Main|July 1941}} * [[July]] – The British Army's [[Special Air Service]] is formed. * [[July 1]] ** Commercial television is authorized by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] in the United States. *** [[NBC]] Television begins commercial operation on WNBT, on Channel 1. The world's first legal TV commercial, for [[Bulova]] watches, occurs at 2:29 PM over WNBT, before a baseball game between the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. The 10-second spot displays a picture of a clock superimposed on a map of the United States, accompanied by the voice-over "America runs on Bulova time."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bulova.com/about/about.aspx|title=About Bulova|website=Bulova|access-date=December 28, 2012|archive-date=February 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220122718/http://bulova.com/about/about.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jeff560.tripod.com/chronotv.html|title=A U. S. Television Chronology, 1875-1970|publisher=}}</ref> As a one-off special, the first quiz show called "Uncle Bee" is telecast on WNBT's inaugural broadcast day, followed later the same day by [[Ralph Edwards]] hosting the second game show broadcast on U.S. television, ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'', as simulcast on radio and TV and sponsored by [[Ivory (soap)|Ivory]] Soap. Weekly broadcasts of the show commence in [[1956 in television|1956]], with [[Bob Barker]]. *** [[CBS Television Network|CBS Television]] begins commercial operation on New York station WCBW (modern-day [[WCBS-TV]]), on Channel 2. ** WWII: *** German forces capture [[Riga]].<ref name="evans and gibbons">{{cite book|last1=Evans|first1=A. A.|last2=Gibbons|first2=David|date=2012|title=The Illustrated Timeline of World War II|location= |publisher=Rosen Publishing|page=69|isbn=978-1-4488-4795-2}}</ref> *** Germany and Italy recognize the Japanese-sponsored [[Reorganized National Government of China|Chinese reorganized national government]] under [[Wang Jingwei]] as the legitimate government of China. * [[July 2]] – WWII: The [[Empire of Japan]] calls up 1 million men for military service. * [[July 3]] – WWII: [[Joseph Stalin]], in his first address since the German invasion, calls upon the Soviet people to carry out a "[[scorched earth]]" policy of resistance to the bitter end. * [[July 4]] – [[Massacre of Lviv professors]]: Polish scientists and writers are murdered by [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] troops in the occupied Polish city of [[Lviv|Lwów]]. * [[July 5]] – WWII: ** [[Operation Barbarossa]]: German troops reach the [[Dnieper River]]. ** British [[troopship]] {{SS|Anselm}} is torpedoed and sunk by {{ship|German submarine|U-96|1940|6}} in the Atlantic Ocean, with the loss of around 250 out of about 1,310 on board. * [[July 5]]–[[July 31|31]]: [[Ecuadorian–Peruvian War]] is fought. * [[July 7]] ** [[Uprising in Serbia (1941)|Uprising in Serbia]]: The [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|Communist Party of Yugoslavia]] raises an uprising against the Nazi occupation, beginning when [[Žikica Jovanović Španac]] [[Bela Crkva incident|kills two gendarmes]] in the village of [[Bela Crkva (Krupanj)|Bela Crkva]], ** WWII: American forces take over the defense of [[Iceland]] from the British. * [[July 10]] – The Holocaust: [[Jedwabne pogrom]]: Local ethnic [[Polish people|Poles]] massacre at least 340 Jewish residents of [[Jedwabne]], in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]]. The Jewish residents are locked in a barn and the barn set on fire<ref>{{cite web|title=The Jedwabne Tragedy|url=http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/J/|year=2000|publisher=Polish Academic Information Center, University at Buffalo|access-date=2012-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716185512/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/J/|archive-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref> * [[July 11]] – The [[Northern Rhodesian Labour Party]] holds its first congress in [[Nkana]].<ref name="Wood1983">{{cite book|author=J. R. T. Wood|title=The Welensky Papers: A History of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lzhzAAAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Graham Publishing|isbn=978-0-620-06410-1|page=80}}</ref> * [[July 13]] ** WWII: [[Uprising in Montenegro (1941)|An uprising in Montenegro]] against the Axis powers starts, the second popular uprising in Europe (the first being the "[[February strike]]" of February 25 ''(above)'' in the Netherlands). ** [[Clemens August Graf von Galen]], Catholic Bishop of Münster in Germany, preaches the first of 3 sermons against Nazi brutality. * [[July 14]] – WWII: [[Vichy France]] signs armistice terms ending all fighting in [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]]. * [[July 17]] – [[Joe DiMaggio]]'s 56-game [[hitting streak]] ends. * [[July 19]] ** WWII: A [[BBC]] broadcast by "Colonel Britton" ([[Douglas Ritchie]]) calls on the people of occupied Europe to resist the Nazis, under the slogan "V for Victory". ** The [[Tom and Jerry]] cartoon short ''[[The Midnight Snack]]'' is released; it is the second appearance for the duo, and the first in which they are officially named. * [[July 23]] – WWII: Italian aircraft damage the British destroyer {{HMS|Fearless|H67|6}} which has to be sunk. * [[July 25]] – [[Postal codes in Germany]] are introduced. * [[July 26]] – WWII: ** In response to the Japanese occupation of [[French Indochina]], U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States. ** General [[Douglas MacArthur]] is named commander of all U.S. forces in the [[Philippines]]; the Philippines Army is ordered nationalized by President Roosevelt. * [[July 29]] – The [[Vichy Regime]] signs the Protocol Concerning Joint Defense and Joint Military Cooperation with the [[Empire of Japan]], giving the Japanese a total of 8 airfields, allowing them greater troop presence, and the use of the Indochinese financial system, in return for continued French autonomy. * [[July 30]] – WWII: [[Glina massacres#July–August 1941|Glina massacre of July–August 1941]] – The [[Ustaše]] brutally kill 200 [[Serbs]] inside a Serbian Orthodox church in [[Glina, Croatia]], with a total of 700–1,200 being killed in the area of the next few days. * [[July 31]] – WWII: [[The Holocaust]]: Under instructions from [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Nazism|Nazi]] official [[Hermann Göring]] orders [[Schutzstaffel|S.S.]] General [[Reinhard Heydrich]] to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired [[Final Solution]] of the Jewish question."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies|editor1=Hayes, Peter|editor2=Roth, John K.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780199211869|page=122}}</ref> ===August=== {{Main|August 1941}} * [[August]] – The [[Political Warfare Executive]] is formed in the United Kingdom to disseminate propaganda to Germany and its occupied countries. * [[August 1]] – The [[Willys MB]] U.S. Army [[Jeep]] is first produced. * [[August 5]] – The [[Provisional Government of Lithuania]] is dissolved. * [[August 6]] – Six-year-old [[Elaine Esposito]] goes to have an [[Vermiform appendix|appendix operation]] in [[Florida]] and lapses into a [[coma]], dying 37 years later, still comatose. * [[August 7]] – WWII: British submarine {{HMS|Severn|N57|6}} sinks an Italian [[Marconi-class submarine]]. * [[August 9]] – [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Winston Churchill]] meet on board ship at [[Naval Station Argentia]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]. The [[Atlantic Charter]] (released [[August 14]]), setting goals for postwar international cooperation, is created as a result. * [[August 16]] ** [[The Holocaust]]: Units of the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' and the ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' (as part of [[Operation Barbarossa]]) start killing Jewish children, signalling the start of the Jewish Genocide. ** {{HMS|Mercury|shore establishment|6}} Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near [[Petersfield]], Hampshire, England. * [[August 19]] – The [[Tiraspol Agreement]] is signed between [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]].<ref name=":99">{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309415043|title=The beginning of war in the East and hastening the approaches against the Jewish population|first1=Adina|last1=Babeș|first2=Alexandru|last2=Florian|journal=Holocaust. Studii și cercetări|issue=7|year=2014|pages=30–44}}</ref> * [[August 21]] – In revenge for the execution two days earlier of [[French Resistance]] member [[Samuel Tyszelman]], communist activist [[Pierre Georges]] (with others) shoots and kills a member of the German military in occupied Paris, initiating a cycle of assassinations and retribution that will claim hundreds of lives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hansen|first=Randall|year=2014|title=Disobeying Hitler: German Resistance After Valkyrie|url=https://archive.org/details/disobeyinghitler0000hans|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/disobeyinghitler0000hans/page/31 31]|isbn=978-0-19-992792-0}}</ref> * [[August 25]] – WWII: The [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]] to secure the [[Persian Corridor]] and oilfields begins. * [[August 27]] – WWII: [[Kamianets-Podilskyi massacre]], 23,600 Jews are shot dead by [[Einsatzgruppen]] troops and local collaborators in Ukraine. * [[August 28]] – WWII: [[Soviet evacuation of Tallinn]] – German troops capture [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]] from the Soviet Union, while attacks on the evacuating Soviet ships leave more than 12,000 dead in one of the bloodiest naval battles of the war. German forces will capture the entire Estonian territory by December 6. * [[August 29]] ** WWII: The [[Government of National Salvation]], a [[Serbs|Serb]] [[puppet state]] of the [[Axis powers]], is established by General [[Milan Nedić]] in [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia|Nazi-occupied Serbia]] in [[Belgrade]], under military commander [[Heinrich Danckelmann]]; the regime includes 15 Ministers. ** [[Robert Menzies]] resigns as [[Prime Minister of Australia]], after losing the support of his [[United Australia Party|party]]. He will not return to the Prime Ministership until [[1949 Australian federal election|1949]]. [[Arthur Fadden]], leader of the [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]], consequently becomes Prime Minister, while former Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] [[1941 United Australia Party leadership election|replaces]] Menzies as UAP leader. * [[August 30]] ** German troopship ''Bahia Laura'' is sunk by British submarine {{HMS|Trident|N52}}; 450 are killed. ** [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] sign another treaty, the [[Tighina Agreement]].<ref name=":99" /> * [[August 31]] ** WWII ([[Uprising in Serbia (1941)|Uprising in Serbia]]): [[Battle of Loznica (1941)|Battle of Loznica]]: [[Chetniks]] capture the town of [[Loznica]] in [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia|Nazi-occupied Serbia]]. ** ''[[The Great Gildersleeve]]'' debuts on [[NBC]] Radio in the United States. ===September=== {{Main|September 1941}} * September ** The word "[[Teenager (word)|Teenager]]" is first recorded in print as a singular conjoined noun, in ''[[Popular Science]]'' magazine (U.S.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishproject.org/april-teen-speak|title=Teen Speak|work=The English Project|date=April 2008|accessdate=2024-06-28}}</ref> ** WWII: The [[Royal Scots Greys]], stationed in the Middle East, receive their first tanks, being the last of the [[cavalry regiments of the British Army]] to have abandoned horses for combat operations.<ref>{{cite book|first=Charles|last=Grant|title=Royal Scots Greys|location=Reading|publisher=Osprey|year=1972|isbn=0850450594|page=34}}</ref> * [[September 3]] – [[The Holocaust]]: ''[[SS]]-[[Hauptsturmführer]]'' [[Karl Fritzsch]] first uses the pesticide [[Zyklon B]] to execute [[Soviet]] [[prisoners of war]] ''en masse'' at [[Auschwitz concentration camp]]; eventually it will be used to kill about 1.2 million people. * [[September 6]] – [[The Holocaust]]: The requirement to wear a [[yellow badge]] with the [[Star of David]] and the word "Jew" (''Jude'') inscribed, is extended to all Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas. * [[September 8]] – WWII: [[Siege of Leningrad]] – German forces begin a siege against the [[Soviet Union]]'s second-largest city, [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]]. Stalin orders the [[Volga German]]s deported to Siberia. * [[September 11]] ** WWII: [[Charles Lindbergh]] delivers his [[Des Moines speech]] at an [[America First Committee]] rally in [[Des Moines, Iowa]], accusing "the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt administration" of leading the United States toward war. Widespread condemnation of Lindbergh follows.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Susan |title=1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler—the Election amid the Storm |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780300205749 |pages=301–303}}</ref> ** The [[Medvedev Forest massacre]] of political prisoners takes place, at the [[Oryol Prison]] in the Soviet Union. ** Construction on [[the Pentagon]] begins in [[Washington, D.C.]] * [[September 12]] ** WWII: The first snowfall is reported on the Russian front. ** Franklin Roosevelt gives one of his [[fireside chats]], on the [[USS Greer (DD-145)|USS ''Greer'']] incident. * [[September 14]] – The State of [[Vermont]] "declares war" on Germany, by defining the United States to be in "armed conflict", in order to extend a wartime bonus to Vermonters in the service.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2011/09/14/this_day_in_history/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118101637/http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-14/lifestyle/30156127_1_actor-adam-lamberg-actor-walter-koenig-danielle-peck|archive-date=2013-01-18|title=Vermont declares war on Germany|newspaper=Boston.com |url-status=live|publisher=}}</ref> * [[September 15]] – The [[Estonian Self-Administration]], headed by [[Hjalmar Mäe]], is appointed by the German military administration. * [[September 16]] – [[Rezā Shāh]] of [[Pahlavi Iran|Iran]] is forced to resign in favor of his son [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, concluding the [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]]. * [[September 16]]–[[September 30|30]] – The [[Nikolaev massacre]] takes place in [[Mykolaiv]] (Soviet Union); 35,782 men, women and children, mostly Jews, are killed by ''[[Einsatzgruppe D]]'' and local collaborators. * [[September 22]] – The town of [[Reshetylivka]] in the [[Soviet Union]] is occupied by German forces. * [[September 23]] – The [[1941 Texas hurricane]] makes landfall near [[Bay City, Texas]], causing extensive damage and flooding in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] and [[Houston]]. * [[September 27]] ** WWII: The [[National Liberation Front (Greece)]] (the main [[Greek Resistance]] movement) is established, and [[Georgios Siantos]] is appointed its first acting leader. ** The first [[liberty ship]], the {{SS|Patrick Henry}}, is launched at [[Baltimore]]. * [[September 28]] – WWII: The [[Drama Uprising]] against the [[Bulgaria]]n [[Axis occupation of Greece|occupation]] in northern Greece begins. * [[September 29]] – WWII: The [[Moscow Conference (1941)|Moscow Conference]] begins; U.S. representative [[Averell Harriman]] and British representative [[Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook]] meet with Soviet foreign minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], to arrange urgent assistance for Russia. * [[September 29]]–[[September 30|30]] – [[The Holocaust]]: [[Babi Yar massacre]] – German troops, assisted by Ukrainian police and local collaborators, kill 33,771 Jews in Kyiv. ===October=== {{Main|October 1941}} * Mid-October – The first [[P-38E Lightning]] fighter is produced by [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] in the United States. * [[October 1]] ** [[The Holocaust]]: The [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[Majdanek concentration camp]] (''Konzentrationslager Lublin'') opens in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]], on the outskirts of the town of [[Lublin]]. Between October 1941 and July 1944, at least 200,000 people will be killed in the camp. ** The [[New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy]] becomes the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]]. * [[October 2]] ** WWII: [[Operation Typhoon]] begins, as Germany launches an all-out offensive against Moscow. ** [[Tudeh Party of Iran]] is founded. * [[October 5]] – [[The Holocaust]]: In [[Berdychiv]], 20–30,000 Jews are shot dead. * [[October 7]] – [[John Curtin]] becomes the 14th [[Prime Minister of Australia]], following the defeat of [[Arthur Fadden]]'s [[National Party of Australia|Country]]/[[United Australia Party|UAP]] [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] [[Fadden government|government]], on the floor of the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. * [[October 8]] – WWII: In their invasion of the [[Soviet Union]], Germany reaches the [[Sea of Azov]], with the capture of [[Mariupol]]. * [[October 11]] – WWII: Armed insurgents from the [[People's Liberation Army of Macedonia]] attack [[Axis powers|Axis]]-occupied zones in the city of [[Prilep]], beginning the [[World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia|National Liberation War of Macedonia]]. * [[October 11]]–[[October 12|12]] – Fire destroys a [[American Printing Company (Fall River Iron Works)|Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] plant in [[Fall River, Massachusetts]], consuming 15,850 tons of [[rubber]], and causing a setback to the United States military effort.<ref>{{cite news|title=No Sabotage Found in Firestone Blaze by FBI Men Making Probe|location=Fall River|newspaper=[[The Herald News]]|date=1941-10-14|page=1}}</ref> * [[October 13]] – [[The Holocaust]]: [[Heinrich Himmler]] instructs [[SS and Police Leader]] [[Odilo Globocnik]] to begin construction of [[Bełżec extermination camp|Bełżec]], the first of the [[Operation Reinhard]] [[extermination camp]]s. * [[October 15]] – WWII: British submarine {{HMS|Torbay|N79|6}} bombards the port of [[Apollonia, Cyrenaica]] in [[Italian Libya]]. * [[October 16]] – WWII: The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government moves to Kuibyshev (modern [[Samara, Russia|Samara]]), but [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] remains in Moscow. * [[October 17]] – WWII: Destroyer {{USS|Kearny|DD-432|6}} is torpedoed and damaged near [[Iceland]], killing 11 sailors (the first American military casualties of the war, in which the US is at this time neutral). * [[October 18]] – General [[Hideki Tōjō]] becomes the 40th [[Prime Minister of Japan]]. * [[October 18]] – Film ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]'' is released in the United States, starring [[Humphrey Bogart]] and directed by [[John Huston]]. * [[October 21]] ** WWII: [[Kragujevac massacre]] – German soldiers and local auxiliaries massacre more than 2,000 civilian men at [[Kragujevac]], in [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia|Nazi-occupied Serbia]]. ** Fictional superheroine [[Wonder Woman]], created by [[William Moulton Marston]] and [[H. G. Peter]], makes her first appearance in ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #8, "[[Introducing Wonder Woman]]", in the US ([[cover date]] December 1941). * [[October 23]] – [[Walt Disney]]'s fourth [[animated film]] ''[[Dumbo]]'' is released in the United States. * [[October 25]] – WWII: German fighter pilot [[Franz von Werra]] disappears during a flight over the North Sea. * [[October 29]] – [[The Holocaust]]: [[Kaunas massacre of October 29, 1941]] – Over 9,200 [[Lithuanian Jews]] are shot dead. * [[October 30]] ** WWII: [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], President of the United States, approves US$1 billion in [[Lend-Lease]] aid to the [[Soviet Union]]. ** The [[Holocaust]]: 1,500 Jews from [[Pidhaitsi]] (in western Ukraine) are sent by the Nazis to the [[Bełżec extermination camp]]. * [[October 31]] ** WWII: Destroyer {{USS|Reuben James|DD-245|6}}, on convoy escort, is accidentally torpedoed by a German [[U-boat]] near [[Iceland]], killing more than 100 [[United States Navy]] sailors. ** The last day of carving on [[Mount Rushmore]] in [[South Dakota]]. ===November=== {{Main|November 1941}} * [[November 5]] – WWII: The United States holds peace talks with Japan. * [[November 6]] – WWII: Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]] addresses the [[Soviet Union]] for only the second time during his three-decade rule (the first time was earlier this year on [[July 2]]). He states that 350,000 Soviet troops have been killed in German attacks, but that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a gross exaggeration), and that Soviet victory is near.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memo from Joseph Stalin about Opening of Second Front during World War II, August 13, 1942 {{!}} State Historical Society of Iowa |url=https://history.iowa.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/world-war-ii/memo-joseph-stalin-about |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=history.iowa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stalin |first=Joseph |date=November 6, 1941 |title=Speech at Celebration Meeting of the Moscow Soviet of Working People's Deputies and Moscow Party and Public Organization |url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1941/11/06.htm |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Marxist.org}}</ref> * [[November 7]] – WWII: The Soviet hospital ship ''[[Armenia (Soviet hospital ship)|Armenia]]'' is sunk by German aircraft while evacuating refugees, wounded military and the staff of several [[Crimea]]n hospitals. It is estimated that more than 5,000 die in the sinking. * [[November 10]] – In a speech at the [[Mansion House, London]], [[Winston Churchill]] promises "should the United States become involved in war with Japan, the British declaration will follow within the hour". * [[November 12]] – WWII: ** As the [[Battle of Moscow]] begins, temperatures around Moscow drop to −12 °C, and the [[Soviet Union]] launches [[Ski warfare|ski troops]] for the first time, against the freezing German forces near the city. ** Soviet cruiser [[Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina|''Chervona Ukraina'']] is hit three times in the Severnaya Bay by bombs from German [[Junkers Ju 87]] Stuka [[dive bomber]]s from [[Sturzkampfgeschwader 77|II./StG 77]] during the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–42)|Siege of Sevastopol]].<ref>Robert Forczyk (2008). Sevastopol 1942, Von Manstein's triumph, p. 40. {{ISBN|978-1-84603-221-9}}</ref> * [[November 14]] ** WWII: British [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}} sinks under tow off [[Gibraltar]], after being torpedoed the previous day by {{ship|German submarine|U-81|1941|6}}. ** [[The Holocaust]]: In [[Slonim]] ([[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian SSR]]), German forces engaged in [[Operation Barbarossa]] murder 9,000 Jews. * [[November 17]] – WWII: [[Joseph Grew]], the United States ambassador to Japan, cables to Washington, D.C. a warning, that Japan may strike suddenly and unexpectedly. * [[November 18]] – WWII: [[Operation Crusader]], a [[British Eighth Army]] operation to relieve the [[Siege of Tobruk]] in North Africa, begins. * [[November 19]] – WWII: [[Sinking of HMAS Sydney|Battle between HMAS ''Sydney'' and German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'']] – Both [[commerce raiding]] [[German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran|German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'']] and Australian cruiser {{HMAS|Sydney|1934|6}} sink following a battle off the coast of Western Australia. There are no survivors from the 645 Australian sailors aboard ''Sydney''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Muggenthaler|first=August Karl|title=German Raiders of WWII|publisher=Prentice-Hall|year=1977|isbn=0-13-354027-8|pages=186–191}}</ref> * [[November 21]] – The live [[blues]] radio program ''[[King Biscuit Time]]'' is broadcast for the first time on [[KFFA (AM)|KFFA]] in [[Helena, Arkansas]]; it will attain its 17,000th broadcast in 2014 making it the longest-running daily American radio broadcast. * [[November 22]] – WWII: British heavy cruiser {{HMS|Devonshire|39|6}} sinks [[commerce raiding]] {{ship|German auxiliary cruiser|Atlantis||6}}, ending the longest warship cruise of the war (622 days without in-port replenishment or repair).<ref>{{cite book|last=Muggenthaler|first=August Karl|title=German Raiders of WWII|publisher=Prentice-Hall|year=1977|isbn=0-13-354027-8|page=114}}</ref> * [[November 26]] – WWII: ** The [[Hull note]] (Outline of Proposed Basis for Agreement Between the United States and Japan), named for [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Cordell Hull]], is delivered to the [[Empire of Japan]] by the United States. ** A task force of 6 [[aircraft carrier]]s, commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral [[Chūichi Nagumo]], leaves [[Kasatka Bay|Hitokapu Bay]] for [[Pearl Harbor]], under strict [[radio silence]]. * [[November 27]] ** WWII: Germans reach their closest approach to Moscow. They are subsequently frozen by cold weather and stopped by attacks by the [[Soviets]]. ** A group of young men stop traffic on U.S. Highway 99 south of [[Yreka, California]], handing out fliers proclaiming the establishment of the [[Jefferson (proposed Pacific state)|State of Jefferson]]. * [[November 30]] and [[December 8]] – [[Rumbula massacre]]: Nazi forces kill approximately 24,000 [[Latvian Jews]] and 1,000 [[German Jews]] outside of [[Riga]]. ===December=== {{Main|December 1941}} [[File:The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - NARA 195617 - Edit.jpg|thumb|300px|{{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}} ablaze after the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]]] * [[December 1]] – WWII: ** [[Fiorello La Guardia]], Mayor of New York City and Director of the [[Office of Civilian Defense]], signs [[s:Administrative Order 9|Administrative Order 9]], creating the [[Civil Air Patrol]] under the authority of the [[United States Army Air Forces]]. ** A state of emergency is declared in [[British Malaya]] and the [[Straits Settlements]]. * [[December 2]] – WWII: The code message "Climb Mount Niitaka" is transmitted to the Japanese task force, indicating that negotiations have broken down and that the attack on Pearl Harbor is to be carried out according to plan. * [[December 4]] – The [[Jefferson (proposed Pacific state)|State of Jefferson]] is declared in [[Yreka, California]], with a judge, John Childs, as governor. * [[December 5]] – WWII: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania. * [[December 6]] – WWII: ** Soviet counterattacks begin against German troops encircling Moscow. The [[German Army|''Heer'']] is subsequently pushed back over {{convert|200|mi|km|abbr=on}}. ** British submarine {{HMS|Perseus|N36|6}} is [[Naval mine|mine]]d off [[Cephalonia]]. * [[December 7]] ([[December 8]] – 3:18 a.m., [[Japan Standard Time]]) – WWII: ** [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]: Aircraft flying from [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Aircraft carrier|carrier]]s launch a surprise attack on the United States fleet at [[Pearl Harbor]] in [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]], thus drawing the United States into World War II. The attack begins at 7:55 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time, and is announced on radio stations in the U.S. at about 11:26 p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]] (19.26 [[GMT]]). ** The [[Japanese declaration of war on the United States and the British Empire]] is published in Japanese evening newspapers, but not formally delivered to the U.S. until the following day. Canada declares war on Japan. ** Adolf Hitler makes his ''[[Nacht und Nebel]]'' decree, declaring that all political prisoners and those involved in both [[German resistance to Nazism]] and resistance to Nazism throughout [[German-occupied Europe]] are to be apprehended by the [[Gestapo]], [[Sicherheitsdienst]] and other security forces under [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s control. ** [[Tobruk]]'s British and Commonwealth garrison is relieved after Axis forces under Rommel withdraw. * [[December 8]] ** WWII: The [[Battle of Hong Kong]] begins shortly after 8:00 a.m. ([[Hong Kong Time|local time]]), less than 8 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Japanese forces invade [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], which is defended by British, Canadian and local troops. The United Kingdom officially declares war on the [[Empire of Japan]]. ** WWII: The Japanese invade the [[Shanghai International Settlement]], to occupy the British and the American sectors, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. ** WWII: The Japanese invasion of the Philippines begins 10 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Japanese forces invade [[Luzon]] and destroy U.S. aircraft on [[Clark Field]].<ref name=WWIIDD>{{cite book|first=Antony|last=Shaw|title=World War II Day by Day|location=Staplehurst|publisher=Spellmount|year=2005|isbn=1-86227-304-9}}</ref> ** WWII: President of the United States [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] delivers his "[[Infamy Speech]]" to a [[Joint session of the United States Congress]] at 12:30 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] (17.30 [[GMT]]). Transmitted live over all four major national networks, it attracts the largest audience ever for an American radio broadcast, over 81% of homes.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert J.|last=Brown|title=Manipulating the Ether: the Power of Broadcast Radio in Thirties America|url=https://archive.org/details/manipulatingethe0000brow|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/manipulatingethe0000brow/page/117 117–120]|location=Jefferson, NC|publisher=McFarland & Co|year=1998|isbn=0-7864-2066-9}}</ref> Within an hour, Congress agrees to the President's request for a [[United States declaration of war upon Japan]], and he signs it at 4:10 p.m. ** WWII: [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], The Netherlands, the Free French, Yugoslavia, [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]] and [[Honduras]] also officially declare war on Japan, and the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] declares war on the [[Axis powers]].<ref name=WWIIDD/> ** WWII: Japanese forces attack [[British Malaya]] and [[Thailand]].<ref name=WWIIDD/> ** WWII: The German advance on Moscow (Operation Typhoon) is suspended for the winter.<ref name=WWIIDD/> ** [[The Holocaust]]: The [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[Chełmno extermination camp]] opens in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]], near the village of [[Chełmno nad Nerem]] (Kulmhof) and the first mass gassing of Jews begins here when the SS use gas vans to murder people from the [[Łódź Ghetto]]. Between December 1941–April 1943 and June 1944–January 1945, at least 153,000 Jews will be killed in the camp. * [[December 10]] – WWII: **British battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} and battlecruiser [[HMS Repulse (1916)|HMS ''Repulse'']] are sunk by Japanese aircraft in the [[South China Sea]] north of [[Singapore]]. **The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]] officially declares war on Japan. * [[December 11]] – WWII: ** [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]] [[German declaration of war against the United States|declare war on the United States]]. The U.S. responds in kind. ** [[Mildred Gillars]] ("Axis Sally") delivers her first [[propaganda]] broadcast to [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] troops. * [[December 11]]–[[December 13|13]] – WWII: [[Battle of Jitra]]: Japanese compel British troops to withdraw from their positions in Malaya. * [[December 12]] – WWII: ** [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–46)|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] declare war on the United States. ** [[British India]] declares war on the [[Empire of Japan]]. ** The United States seizes the French liner {{SS|Normandie}}. ** The Kimura Detachment of the Japanese Imperial forces occupies Legaspi, Albay, [[Philippines]]. * [[December 13]] ** WWII: The United Kingdom, New Zealand and South Africa declare war on Bulgaria; Hungary declares war on the United States; and Honduras declares war on Germany and Italy. ** WWII: The [[Battle of Cape Bon (1941)|Battle of Cape Bon]] is fought off [[Cape Bon]], [[Tunisia]]: Italian cruisers ''[[Italian cruiser Alberico da Barbiano|Alberico da Barbiano]]'' and ''[[Italian cruiser Alberto di Giussano|Alberto di Giussano]]'' are sunk without loss to the Allies. ** Sweden's low temperature record of −53 °C is set in a village within the [[Vilhelmina Municipality]]. * [[December 14]] – WWII: The [[Independent State of Croatia]] declares war on the United States and the United Kingdom. * [[December 15]] – WWII: At [[Drobytsky Yar]], 15,000 Jews are shot dead by German troops. * [[December 19]] – WWII: ** Hitler becomes Supreme [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Nazi Army]]. ** [[Raid on Alexandria (1941)|Raid on Alexandria]]: Italian [[Regia Marina]] divers on [[human torpedo]]es place [[limpet mine]]s on ships of the British [[Royal Navy]] [[Mediterranean Fleet]] in port at [[Alexandria]], Egypt, disabling battleships [[HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913)|''Queen Elizabeth'']] and [[HMS Valiant (1914)|''Valiant'']]. ** Twelve days after the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]] graduates its "Class of 1942" a semester early, so as to induct the graduating students without delay into the U.S. Navy and/or Marine Corps as officers, for immediate stationing in the war.<ref>[http://www.usna.com/page.aspx?pid=700 The United States Naval Academy Alumni Association and the United States Naval Academy Foundation website], usna.com; accessed December 4, 2014.</ref> * [[December 21]] ** [[Thailand]] and Japan sign a military alliance. ** [[The Holocaust]]: The [[Stanisławów Ghetto]] is established. * [[December 22]] – WWII: The [[Arcadia Conference]] opens in Washington, D.C., the first meeting on military strategy between the heads of government of the United Kingdom and the United States, following the latter's entry into the war. * [[December 23]] – WWII: A second Japanese landing attempt on [[Wake Island]] is successful, and the American garrison surrenders, after a full night and morning of fighting. * [[December 24]] – WWII: ** British forces capture [[Benghazi]]. ** Dutch submarine [[HNLMS K XVI|HNLMS ''K XVI'']] is the first Allied ship to sink a Japanese warship, sinking the destroyer ''[[Sagiri]]'' near [[Sarawak]]; ''K XVI'' is herself torpedoed the following day by Japanese submarine [[Japanese submarine I-66|''I-66'']]. * [[December 25]] – WWII: ** The [[Battle of Hong Kong]] ends after 17 days, with the surrender of the British [[Crown colony]] to the Japanese. ** Admiral [[Émile Muselier]] seizes the archipelago of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] off Newfoundland, the first part of France to be liberated by the [[Free French Forces]]. * [[December 26]] – WWII: [[Winston Churchill]] becomes the first British Prime Minister to address a [[joint session of the United States Congress]]. * [[December 27]] – WWII: [[British Commandos]] raid the Norwegian port of [[Vågsøy|Vaagso]], causing Hitler to reinforce the garrison and defenses, drawing vital troops away from other areas. ===Date unknown=== * The ''[[Classics Illustrated|Classic Comics]]'' series is launched in the United States, with a version of ''[[The Three Musketeers]]''. * Chosun Tire and Rubber Manufacture, predecessor of [[South Korea]]n [[tire]] [[brand]] [[Hankook]], is founded in [[Seoul]] (at this time part of the Empire of Japan).{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} * Factory Canteen, predecessor of multinational [[foodservice]] company [[Compass Group]], is founded in England by Jack Bateman.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Long|first=Vicky|date=2014|title=Situating the factory canteen in discourses of health and industrial work in Britain (1914-1939)|journal=[[Le Mouvement Social]]|volume=2|issue=247|pages=65–83|doi=10.3917/lms.247.0065|issn=0027-2671|pmc=4113673|pmid=25082999}}</ref>
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